SCHOOL ZONES:
Freemans Bay Primary, Ponsonby Intermediate, Auckland Girls’ Grammar, Western Springs College.
CONTACT:
Blair Haddow, Bayleys, 021 544 555.
AUCTION:
September 30.
*Offstreet parking for 3 cars.
The day Gerry and Rob Kofoed checked out this picture-book cottage as a potential family home, they were served up a gentle reminder that things are not always as they seem.
From the street, this Victorian-era home looked small but perfectly formed and they thought it might be quite fine for them and their two daughters, who were then in their teens.
By the time they'd walked through its three levels, tallied up the five bedrooms and discovered the separate study, they knew they'd discovered something rather special.
All thoughts of downsizing from their previous home went out the window. This home had all of that and more with a much better configuration comprising two bedrooms on the entry level, two more downstairs and the large master bedroom on the top floor.
On first inspection, the study, the bathroom and the sense of separation between their personal and public spaces appealed most and the interior doors have been the secret to its supreme functionality.
During previous house-hunting excursions, Gerry had seen a design or two in which the master bedroom wasn't sufficiently separate from the rest of the house for her liking.
"There wasn't a door and it wasn't able to be shut off," she says. "This house has lots of doors and rooms can be shut off, and that has been perfect. Up here, our bedroom really is a sanctuary and on a Saturday afternoon I'll sneak up here for a read. You can disappear up here and it is quiet and peaceful even if there is a lot going on downstairs."
Image 1 of 8: Yes, 'Tardis' is a cliche. But it's true. Super cute from the street, this villa's front door conceals oodles of enjoyable space
The bedroom balcony looks due north, beyond pitched roofs softened by mature trees. North-east, beyond the bifold windows, the urban view unfolds beyond Victoria Park out to sailing regattas on the harbour with Rangitoto Island as the backdrop.
Much of this reminds Gerry of Elizabeth Bay in Sydney where she lived in the late 1980s. But, for the past 23 years it has been Arch Hill, Ponsonby and Herne Bay that have been bases for Rob, a GP, who works from home with Gerry.
For both, their time here has been their favourite, for the mixed age demographic of the neighbourhood and its central location.
It has been the "go to" pad for daughters Maddie, 22, and Bella, 19. They and their friends disappear downstairs to the lounge with its kitchenette that opens to the private in-ground pool and tropical garden.
On the entry level, everyone gravitates to the sunny kitchen island bench near the dining area between the main living area and their large deck. On the same level, the main bathroom with its pebble-tiled shower and deep bath is a drawcard. "We're a real bath family especially during the winter months," says Gerry.
This couple have added lifestyle value here by covering the deck that now filters summer sun into the kitchen and returns them a year-round alfresco second living area.
The design of this house swept away all notions of downsizing four years ago but, this time, Gerry and Rob are serious about moving somewhere smaller. With both daughters living out of Auckland, they're keen to buy an apartment in the city to complement their bach at Waihi Beach, which will become the family base.
